Spain

Frequently Asked Questions

Survival handles about four dozen specific cases a year. Each is related to a particular tribal people or geographical area and each encompasses many violations of the people's rights. It goes without saying that these cases, which are formally ‘adopted’ by Survival, are but the tip of an immense iceberg. It could be fair to say that virtually every tribal people, everywhere in the world, is facing some violation of their rights. As our resources are limited we must select our cases carefully. As with all human rights work, we are forced into a position where we cannot handle all the cases we would like to. We use several different criteria for deciding which cases to adopt and we are continually reviewing our ‘case list’. We tend to favor cases where tribal people have little or no direct access to the international media, governments, corporations and UN bodies themselves. We also focus on tribal peoples who have the most to lose, usually those most recently in contact with the outside world or those who remain uncontacted. Our case list is constantly under review and we welcome information on such situations in case we are able to take them up in the future. Additionally, we are in a position to pass such information on to journalists who approach us, even if we're not working on the specific case ourselves.

Due to limited financial and human resources we have to be selective in our decisions as to where to open new offices. We will only open a new office if it is in line with the strategic priorities of the organization. You can help Survival in many ways - by volunteering your time or services to an existing Survival office, or by getting involved with our online campaigns. You'd be surprised how much help we can use, even when an office isn't nearby.

We get many requests for help and would like to assist but in order to ensure our limited resources are directed to the people who need them the most - tribal peoples - we are unable to help with individual research questions. We have a wealth of information on our website which you are welcome to use in your research.

Survival bases its research on direct contact with the peoples with whom we work. In practical terms, this means that our own staff carry out extensive research in the field; we also have a large informal network of contacts, both tribal and non-tribal, permanently on the ground, with whom we are in constant contact. Therefore, we do not fund research projects, or sponsor any visitors other than our own staff. However, we are always willing to hear from people with information about or high-quality photographs of, tribal peoples, or those with relevant interests and experience who are keen to work for Survival.

We are regularly asked to fund worthwhile initiatives all over the world. As a campaigning organization that relies almost entirely on supporter donations to finance our work, we are unfortunately unable to help with any funding requests.

We cannot stop you from visiting tribal peoples who have been in routine contact with outsiders for some time, but we recommend that you read our article on the dangers of adventure travel and ensure that the tribal peoples are in agreement, have proper control over where you go and what you do, and get a fair share of the profit (if applicable). No one should go to tribes which aren’t in regular contact with outsiders. It’s dangerous for everyone.

Our image library comprises photographs taken by our own staff and outside photographers. We do not commission or pay for images. Photographs are one of the best ways to keep tribal peoples' issues in the media, so If you are able to contribute any do get in touch.